Premium
The Sustainability of Free‐Surface‐Induced Supershear Rupture on Strike‐Slip Faults
Author(s) -
Hu Feng,
Oglesby David D.,
Chen Xiaofei
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2019gl084318
Subject(s) - geology , seismology , free surface , slip (aerodynamics) , perpendicular , fault (geology) , mechanics , geometry , engineering , aerospace engineering , physics , mathematics
While prior numerical simulations indicate that the Earth's free surface can induce supershear propagation on strike‐slip faults, copious observations of strike‐slip earthquakes have produced only a few instances of such supershear rupture. Our dynamic rupture simulations with varying initial normal stresses and fault strengths show that free‐surface‐induced supershear rupture on strike‐slip faults may return to sub‐Rayleigh speed as the rupture progresses. Such a phenomenon is defined as unsustained free‐surface‐induced supershear rupture, indicating that a rupture on a strike‐slip fault, even if it encounters the free surface, may not generate supershear rupture that is sustained long enough to be observable. The shape of the rupture front contour on the fault may also lead to a false impression about the rupture velocity, since the daughter crack may also propagate at sub‐Rayleigh speed, with near‐field fault‐perpendicular ground motion. Shallower hypocenter depths increase the likelihood of an unsustained free‐surface‐induced supershear rupture.